Sign is Lobby is made from legos

Happy Zappos Employee #Maestro scored with somecool flip flops from the sample sale

Things To Do in Las Vegas – Zappos Tourthelasvegasluxuryhomepro.com /things-to-do-in-las-vegas-zappos-tour/

Debbie Drummond

So why would you want to spend anhour in Las Vegas touring a placewhere people work?

For starters, they have a great selection of artworkscattered about the place. Add to that aninteresting success story and a unique workenvironment.

The tours must be scheduled in advance. Thereis no cost for the Zappos Group tour experience. That’s the one we took. They ask you to arrivehalf an hour early so everyone can get checked inand the tour can start on time. Photos of computermonitors and video are not allowed. Otherwise,you can snap away.

Parking is in the garage behind the building and is free. Our friends ran a little late. The parking lot wasfull when they arrived. They ended up having to use the public parking underneath the freeway. Gavethem a chance to walk past the murals on the wall in the back of the building. (You can see my pics of themurals at the end of this post. You can see them in person on 4th Street.)

Our tour happened on a day when they were having their“Sample Sale”. We watched as employees used their breaktimes to go check out the samples that vendors had broughtfor their sales meetings. The sale was set up in the circularcourtyard in the center of the complex. We saw a lot ofhappy faces. The “Maestro” of the tour guides posed for apicture with his $5 flip flops. They reminded him of hisnative HI.

We didn’t mind that we had arrived a bit early because thelobby is an interesting place to check out. While we waitedfor everyone to arrive, we got to enjoy the lobby art. One ofour favorites from the tour was the collection of fourcelebrity portraits. Lucille Ball and Marilyn Monroe in thecenter are stunning. George & Leo aren’t bad either. Andin front of them was an interesting sculpture that looked like a brain to us.

Once everyone had checked in, we were given passes to wear around our necks. We were able to scanthem to get into the areas we toured. Adhesive badges were printed with our names on them too. At theend of the tour, we got to paste them on a growing ball of stick on labels.

The Culture Guides were introduced to us and we got to watch a movie about how Zappos came to be.

Lobby Artwork

Tony aka #culturegodfather shows us the new hire trainingcenter

Did you know it all started when a guy (Nick Swimnurn) was in San Francisco and couldn’t find the boothe wanted? It wasn’t in stock in his size/coloranywhere. That inspired him to formshoesite.com. His friends and family invested$150K to get it off the ground but they neededmore.

By this time Tony Hsieh had started and soldLinkExchange for $265M. Tony then foundedVenture Frogs with his college buddy Alfred Lin. Itwas a venture capital fund to help start ups. Nickbrought shoesite.com to them.

To make a long story short, Zappos was born. The name is a play on Zapatos. (Shoes inSpanish.) As they show in the pre-tour movie, they tried Zapos but it didn’t sound right. Added another “p”and Zappos. The movie goes on to talk about the issues they had with distribution in the early days. Howthey moved to Las Vegas in 2004. And finally, how Zappos and Amazon got married in 2009.

After you watch the movie, the group is divided intosmaller groups. Each group is assigned a “CultureGuide”. Ours was #culturegodfather aka Tony. Tony’sa long time Las Vegas resident. Graduated from UNLVin Hospitality Management. Worked at the Plaza inDowntownLV. He confessed that he worked as aRealtor from 2004-2009. He joined Zappos as the realestate market was tanking.

Tony remembers when the building was City Hall and ithad a jail. He pointed out the changes that Zappos hasmade. When Zappos first took over the space, it wasdivided into small offices. There were several ways inand out of the building.

Zappos moved into the building in September 2013. The building was completely remodeled before theymoved. The ductwork and electrical systems are all overhead and exposed. Makes it much easier forrepairs or modifications. The small offices were turned into open work spaces.

There are meeting/conference rooms but only one office. It belongs to the Life Coach and is a privateoffice to protect the confidentiality of employees. Yes, they have a life coach who will help you analyzewhat you’re doing and how you can achieve your goals.

It was obvious that Zappos life agrees with Tony. We started in the Human Resources area. Tony wasextremely proud as he pointed out all the benefits they receive. Health insurance with no co-pay. On sitefitness and nutrition programs. Generous 401K. #Culturegodfather enjoys working there so much, hecould easily tempt you to fill out an application. Had I worked for a company like this ages ago, I mighthave stayed there 10-20 years.

Our #CultureGodfather’s pride continued to show as he took us through the facility. We started with a“bubble”. There are several of them scattered throughout the complex. We stopped at one on the secondfloor. It was decorated with an 80′s theme. Bean bag chairs, a pink flamingo and board games from the80s. Each of the bubbles is decorated differently. They’re designed to create a comfy place to work with

One of many “Bubbles” where you can take breaks or work. This

one overlooks the inner courtyard.

One of the nicest spots for lunch outdoors.

Work of art in progress in Zappos’ Zing Zong lounge

your laptop or take a break.

Speaking of breaks, the area also had a kitchen. Cereals and snacks were on the shelves on oneside. The other side had a fridge with space foremployees to put the food they brought in andsome things like yogurt they could just take. Thebeverage container next to the fridge was stockedwith waters, soft drinks, etc. They were all free toemployees except for the energy drinks that cost$2. Tony explained that the vending machine fordrinks was on one floor and the vending machinefor snacks was on the floor above. It’s a way ofencouraging those serendipitous encounters thatHsieh promotes. You can read more about howthose chance encounters are encouraged in densely populated areas in “Triumph of the City“.

After our visit to the Bubble, we passed through the Skydeck. The Skydeck is another lounge area whereone can go with their laptop to work or just to relax. It was designed by the Social media team andfeatures skylights with hammocks and astro-turf. The company is divided into teams who compete forvarious awards. As a social media type, I was rather proud that the social team won the sky deck design.

We circled around to the cafeteria and one of thenicest outdoor lunch spots in town. We were therejust before lunch so the tables were all open, butwe could easily imagine the place being full a bitlater. Especially since we’ve been having suchnice autumn weather. Again, there’s a hugeselection of healthy salads and beverages that arefree. No drinks are more than $2.

In the same area as the cafeteria, you’ll find theZappos concierge. Yes, there is someone toassist employees with discount tickets to shows,restaurants, etc. And, in the same area you’ll findthe “Mainframe”. Employees can take their smart phones, laptops and tech devices for expert servicewhen needed. It’s another employee benefit.

After you’ve enjoyed lunch in the cafeteria, stop in tothe Zing Zong Room for a game of ping pong. Or stopin to see the mural that’s a work in progress on the wallby the ping pong table. It was when we reached thispoint that we realized, we may have to come back insix months to see the completed project.

One of our favorite artistic works was the ode to JackNicholson in the Shining. We spotted it as we wentinto the Customer Loyalty Area. He’s painted insideone of the beams that supports the building. By thetime we found Jack, we had already seen much of thetour.

Jack Nicholson in the Shining welcomesvisitors to the CLT (Customer Loyalty Team)

area

Tony Hsieh’s desk on Monkey Row

It’s fitting that Jack greets those who go to work in the Customer Loytalty Team. You would think they musthave to deal with some folks who are irate, upset and it could be astressful job. We found the atmosphere was upbeat.

Part of the upbeat attitude is because Zappos treats theiremployees exceptionally well. They also train them well. Tonyshowed us the training area where new hires spend their first fourweeks. Two weeks of that is spent on the phone. It doesn’t matterwhether you’ve been hired to work the phones or photographitems for the catalogue. All new hires learn to work the phones.

Finally, those who do end up working the phones are not put on aquota system. Tony showed us the board where they trackresponse times. One of the first things he said was, “there are noquotas.” The employees do not work on the basis that they haveto make so many sales or do so much gross sales revenue.

Equally surprising, there are no scripts. When you call Zappos, you will not be speaking to someone whohas memorized a script to help them pick up on how they should close you. They’re trained to pick up oncues. Is there a dog barking in the background? Maybe a baby crying? How’s the weather in the areacode you’re calling from?

As a Realtor, I found this bit of info fascinating. I have never once memorized the scripts that some realestate trainers push. I’ve always found them corny and insincere. Hearing that a successful company likeZappos can handle their huge call volume without scripts was a true “Ah Ha” moment. The CustomerLoyalty Staff consists of 600 employees out of 1600 who work for the company. The CLTs are encouragedto make a connection and provide excellent customer service.

Tony shared with us how he once sent a pair of cowboy boots to a customer who had called with acomplaint. The customer had an equestrian event coming up that week-end and her boots obviously werenot right. As he said, “mistakes do happen.” He could see her customer record. She had nevercomplained or returned items. He didn’t have to ask anyone for permission. He found the boots in hersize, over-nighted them and refunded the $250 she had paid for the flawed boots that had been sent.

We got to see Tony Hsieh’s “office” as part of thetour. We saw that before heading to the CLT area. Hsieh’s office is located on “Monkey Row”. It’s anexecutive suite unlike any we’ve ever seen. Thereare several desks. Each one has their “licenseplate” with their name on them. Tony’s is the oneby the window that overlooks the balcony and thecourtyard below. It was covered with books and abottle of un-opened vodka when we were there.

Our final observation about the success of Zapposhas to do with Hsieh himself. We’ve read abouthis ambitious plans for downtown since it was firstannounced that Zappos was taking over City Hall. We’ve frequented the new restaurants as they’veopened in the downtown area. We’ve been toevents where Hsieh has talked about Zappos and/or downtown. We’ve also seen Hsieh walking arounddowntown. When we’ve seen him out and about, he is not pretentious. He’s dressed nice but

One of our favorite murals visible from the street

The shoe mural is also a public display

casual/comfortable. We caught a glimpse of him when we took the tour as well.

It’s obvious that one of the final secrets in the success of Zappos is the personality behind it all. Hsieh isnot hidden away behind a locked door. He’s out there with his family of workers and is capable of steppingin to answer the phone if needed. For more info on the unique culture, visit Zappos Insights.

At the end of the tour, make sure to grab a couple of books from the Zappos Family Charity Library. Thebooks cost $10 and go to charities within the community.

We did the 11 a.m. tour. It’s a perfect time to do the tour followed by lunch at one of the nearbyrestaurants. Follow that up with a visit to the Downtown Container Park.

This is the first in a new series of blog posts about things to do in Las Vegas by Las Vegas Real Estateexpert Debbie Drummond. Follow us to see future articles.

Debbie Drummond has over ten years experience in the Las Vegas Real Estate Market. She specializes inluxury homes and high rise properties. If you’re buying or selling a Las Vegas home, call (702)354-6900 oremail Debbie@LVHomePro.com. We’ll be happy to assist you in your move.

The following photos are some of our other favorite artistic works. The murals can be viewed on4th Street just North of the Zappos building, before the 95 Fwy-

Another Work in Progress inside the building

“Stays in Vegas” on wall outside Zappos

Mural on Wall Outside building

Mural on Wall behind Zappos

Chalk art in Human Resources, the artist is an employee who is nowa curator